Prof. Dr. Stephan Sonnenburg

Prof. Dr. Stephan Sonnenburg | Affiliate

At the university since

  • October 16, 2008

Committees/tasks

  • Member of the Senate
  • Head of study program Master Management
  • Master’s specialization manager“Brand“
  • Master’s specialization manager “Creativity & Innovation”
  • Master’s specialization manager“New Media“

Research interests and fields

  • Creativity and innovation management
  • Branding and marketing
  • Organizational transformation
  • Performative and interdisciplinary basic orientation in the main research areas

Academic training and further education

  • Doctorate (Dr. phil.) at the Berlin University of the Arts on the topic “Cooperative Creativity: Theoretical Basic Designs and Organizational Implications”
  • Second degree in art studies at the Technical University in Berlin
  • Studied social and business communication at the University of the Arts in Berlin (degree: Diplom-Kommunikationswirt)
  • Studied European Business Administration at Middlesex University Business School in London

Practical experience

  • Planning Director at SelectNY.Berlin – Main clients served: Aktion Mensch, Douglas, Thalia, Radisson BLU, BASF
  • Senior Strategic Planner at ECONOMIA/BBDO, Hamburg – brand management, creative planning and qualitative market research. Main customers served: Telekom, Volvo, Beiersdorf, Schwartau
  • Senior Consultant and Planner at heller & partner, Berlin – development of the Berlin branch and new business. Main clients served: BMW, Messe, Berlin, Deutsche Kreditbank
  • Consultant at zeb/rolfes.schierenbeck.associates, Berlin – client projects in the banking and insurance sector

Teaching

Karlshochschule International University (since 2008)

  • Supervisor of 70+ BA theses, 40+ Master and Diploma theses and 3 dissertations.
  • “Approaching Brands”, module in the “Brand” area of the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Brand Stories”, module in the “Brand” area of the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Brand Strategies”, module in the “Brand” area of the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Creative Industries”, module in the area of “Creativity & Innovation” in the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Creativity in Context”, module in the area of “Creativity & Innovation” in the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Creativity & Innovation”, module in the area of “Creativity & Innovation” in the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Key Concepts for the Study of Management as Culture: Cultural Turns”, module in the area “Cultural Change & Society” in the Master’s program Management.
  • “Research Colloquium”, module in the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Special Issue”, module in the Master’s program in Management.
  • “Change & Innovation”, module in the Bachelor’s program in Management.
  • “Corporate Communications”, module in the Bachelor’s program International Media Management.
  • “Culture Marketing”, module in the Bachelor’s program Arts and Cultural Management.
  • “Introduction to International Marketing”, module in the Bachelor program International Marketing Management.
  • “International Marketing Strategy”, module in the Bachelor program International Marketing Management.
  • “Modern Brand Metaphors”, module in the Bachelor program Arts and Cultural Management.
  • “Strategic Marketing”, module in the Bachelor program International Marketing Management.

Expert activities

  • since 2016: Guest lecturer at the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht
  • since 2010: Guest lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School
  • 2006 – 2010: Guest lecturer at the University of the Arts, Berlin

Further information

  • 2011: Visiting Scholar (February to April) at the BI-Norwegian School of Management
  • 2011: Scholarship from the Research Council of Norway (Yggdrasil) on the topic “The Relevance of Cultural Differences for Swarm Branding: Reducing Skepticism towards Cause-related Marketing or Cause-related Branding?”
  • 2010: ERASMUS Mobility Grant for the BI-Norwegian School of Management
  • 2004-2005: Doctoral scholarship from the state of Berlin
  • 1997: Kunst3 oder wie lernt ein Museum laufen?, 1st place in the “Jugend entwickelt Berlin” competition

Publications and working papers

Books

  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2020): Creativity route planner: How to come up with really good ideas in everyday life and at work. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler.
  • Küpers, Wendelin; Sonnenburg, Stephan; Zierold, Martin (2017) (Eds.): ReThinking management: Perspectives and impacts of cultural turns and beyond. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Wee, Desmond (2015) (Eds.): Touring consumption. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Baker, Laura (2013) (Eds.): Branded spaces: Experience enactments and entanglements. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2009) (Eds.): Swarm Branding: Markenführung im Zeitalter von Web 2.0. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2007): Cooperative creativity: Theoretical basic concepts and organizational success factors. Wiesbaden: DUV.

Guest editor for special magazine issues

  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Runco, Mark A. (2017) (Eds.): The hero’s journey: A tribute to Joseph Campbell and his 30th anniversary of death. Special Issue, Journal of Genius and Eminence, 2(2).
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Wee, Desmond (2016) (Eds.): Touring consumption. Special Issue, Journal of Consumer Culture.

Series editor

  • 2013 onwards, “Management, Culture, Interpretation”, together with Dirk Wagner, Springer VS, six published volumes till now.
  • 2018 onwards, “Anthem Series on Thresholds and Transformations”.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

  • Primus, Dirk; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2018): Flow experience in Design Thinking and practical synergies with Lego Serious Play. In: Creativity Research Journal, 30(1), 104-112.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Runco, Mark (2017): Pathways to the Hero’s Journey: A Tribute to Joseph Campbell and the 30th Anniversary of His Death. In: Journal of Genius and Eminence, 2(2), 1-8.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): From zero to hero: A metaphorical amplification of design thinking. In: Journal of Genius and Eminence, 2(2), 104-114.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Manz, Lena (2017): Moments to despair in the co-creative process. In: Business Creativity and the Creative Economy, 3, 75-87.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Wee, Desmond (2016): Introduction to touring consumption. In: Journal of Consumer Culture, 16(2), 322-333.
  • Baker, Laura; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2013): Business co-creativity with an eye towards MENA. In: Journal of Strategy and Management, 6(2), 123-138.
  • Singh, Sangeeta; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2012): Brand performances in social media. In: Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(4), 189-197.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2004): Creativity in communication: A theoretical framework for collaborative product creation. In: Creativity and Innovation Management, 13(4), 254-262.

Edited chapters and articles

  • Primus, Dirk; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2020): Flow. In: Runco, Mark A; Pritzker, Steven R. (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Creativity, 3rd edition. Cambridge: Academic Press.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): Beyond a wordplay. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 80.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): From design thinking to designerly thinking. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 98.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): A hero’s journey with Tarot cards in 60 minutes: A creative template. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 126-129.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): A hero’s journey with Tarot cards in 60 minutes: A creative template. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 126-129.
  • Hindley, Clare; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): Imagining yesterday: The spirit of the Gothic. In: Kuiper, Gabrielle; Hagoort, Giep; Kooyman, Rene (Eds.): Being Connected: Kunst en Economie: uitblinken in het creëren van culturele, economische en maatschappelijke waarde, 175-176.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2019): Branded Spaces: Corporate architecture from the brand’s perspective. In: Bielzer, L. (Ed.): Corporate Architecture. Künzelsau: Swiridoff, 49-56.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2015): Mensch-Medien-Hybride: Auf dem Weg zu einem neuen Da-sein In: Stiegler, Christian; Breitenbach, Patrick; Zorbach, Thomas (Eds.): New Media Culture: Mediale Phänomene der Netzkultur. Bielefeld: transcript, 281-295.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan; Baker Laura (2013): Approaching branded spaces. In: Sonnenburg, Stephan; Baker, Laura (Eds.): Branded spaces: Experience enactments and entanglements. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 9-29.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2013): Beatles & Co: Creativity as an emergent phenomenon. In: Becker, Lutz; Müller, Andreas (Eds.): Narrative and innovation. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 175-194.
  • Baker, Laura; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2012): Using DASH to generate co-creativity in liminal experiences. In: Innovating innovation, initiated by Thomas Fundneider and Markus Peschl in cooperation with APA-ZukunftWissen.
  • Baker, Laura; Sonnenburg, Stephan (2011): Creating creativity in business contexts. In: Bylok, Felicjan; Cichobłazinski, Leszek (Eds.): The role of human capital in knowledge based management. Czestochowa: WWZPCz, 17-31.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2011): Do cultural brands need brand culture? Between staging and involvement. In: Holst, Christian; Janner, Karin; Kopp, Axel (Eds.): Social Media im Kulturmanagement: Wie Online-Geschäftsmodelle und das mobile Web das Kulturmanagement revolutionieren. Heidelberg: mitp, 191-207.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2011): Creativity. In: Meier, Rolf; Janßen, Axel (Eds.): Coachs ausbilden: A strategic curriculum. Sternenfels: Wissenschaft & Praxis Dr. Brauner, 406-413.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2010): Corporate creativity as corporate creativity: And what can we learn from famous companies? In: Preiß, Jürgen (Eds.): Yearbook of Creativity 2010. Cologne: JPMK, 101-112.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2009): Brand models of involvement: From mission to transmission. In: Sonnenburg, Stephan (Eds.): Swarm Branding: Markenführung im Zeitalter von Web 2.0. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 73-86.
  • Burgold, Felix; Sonnenburg, Stephan; Voß, Markus (2009): Mass makes brand: The importance of Web 2.0 for brand management. In: Sonnenburg, Stephan (Eds.): Swarm Branding: Markenführung im Zeitalter von Web 2.0. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 9-18.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2007): Creative complexes: A theoretical framework for collaborative creativity. In: Jöstingmeier, Bernd; Boeddrich, Heinz-Jürgen. (Eds.): Cross-cultural innovation. Munich: Oldenbourg, 149-165.

Magazine articles and interviews

  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): “How to send creatives on a hero’s journey”, Werben & Verkaufen 11.12.2017,
  • www.wuv.de/karriere/so_schickt_man_kreative_auf_eine_heldenreise.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): “What are the benefits of design thinking in agencies?”, Werben & Verkaufen 18.09.2017,
  • www.wuv.de/agenturen/was_bringt_design_thinking_in_agenturen.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): “These techniques make you more creative”, Werben & Verkaufen 23.05.2017,
  • www.wuv.de/agenturen/diese_techniken_machen_kreativer.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): “Does Trump make us all more creative”, Werben & Verkaufen 04.04.2017, www.wuv.de/agenturen/interview_macht_trump_uns_alle_kreativer.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2017): “Failing more creatively: Why mistakes and agony are part of it”, Werben &Verkaufen 21.02.2017, www.wuv.de/agenturen/kreativer_scheitern_warum_fehler_und_qualen_dazu_gehoeren.
  • Küpers, Wendelin; Sonnenburg, Stephan; Zerr, Michael (2017): “The Karls as a place for re-thinking management”. In: Karlsmagazine, 6-8.
  • Sonnenburg, Stephan (2010): Brands are like barbecues: The participatory culture in the brand. In: German Council Magazine “Culture”, 34-38.

Contributions to academic conferences

  • “Organizations as cathedrals: The Geist of the Gothic” (together with Clare Hindley), Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism “Ghosts”, York, 8-11 July 2019.
  • “Measuring individual flow experience with EEG” (together with Johanna Anzengruber and Dirk Primus) plus roundtable, ISPIM Innovation Conference, Florence, June 16-19, 2019.
  • “In-between thresholds and transformations”, Art of Management & Organization Conference, Brighton, 30.08.-02.09.2018.
  • “The heroine or hero with a thousand ideas: Melding myth and management”, Art of Management & Organization Conference, Brighton, 30.08.-02.09.2018.
  • “Pathways from the hero’s journey: A tribute to Joseph Campbell and the 30th anniversary of his death”, Panel-Organizer, Creativity Conference, Ashland, Oregon, 03.-06.08.2018.
  • “Team flow rhythms during design thinking: Flow inhibitors, flow inducers and the link between team flow rhythms and co-creative quality” (together with Dirk Primus), ISPIM Innovation Conference, Stockholm, 17.-20.06.2018.
  • “Brand – Myth – Media: The hero wears Prada.”, Corporate Architecture Conference, Künzelsau, 19.01.2018.
  • “Flow experience in Design Thinking and practical synergies with Lego Serious Play”, XXVIII ISPIM Innovation Conference, Vienna, 18.-21.06.2017.
  • “Human-robot-hybridity in performance: Approaching a new da-sein by disability” (together with Claudia Rebola), Utopia after the Human, The Fifth Symposium of the Imaginaries of the Future: Historicizing the Present Leverhulme International Research Network, Ithaca, NY, 11-12.04. 2017.
  • “From zero to hero: A metaphorical perspective on design thinking”, International Conference “Creative Society: Ideas, Problems, and Concepts”, Florence, 13-14.03.2017.
  • “Moments to despair in the co-creative process”, XXVII ISPIM Innovation Conference, Porto, 19-22.06.2016.
  • “Deconstructing brands” (together with Laura Baker), Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism “Creative De-Construction”, Warsaw, 13-16.07.2013.
  • “Co-creativity as normal business” (together with Laura Baker), Standing Conference on Organizational Symbolism “Creative De-Construction”, Warsaw, 13-16.07.2013.
  • “Co-creativity as a liminal experience” (Keynote Speaker), AIB-MENA conference “Managing in Uncertain Times”, Dubai, 13-15.01.2012.
  • “Creating creativity in business contexts” at the conference “People and the Value of an Organization – Social, Human and Intellectual Capital”, Czestochowa/Koszecin,16.-17.06.2011.
  • “We-branding: Brands are like barbecues” at the conference “Narrative + Innovation”, Karlshochschule International University, Karlsruhe, 15.-17.09.2010.
  • “Swarm creativity” at the 3rd UNeECC (University Network of the European Capitals of Culture) conference, Vilnius, 22-23.10.2009.
  • “Project creativity in organizations: What can we learn from the Beatles, Picasso, Braque, and Herzog & de Meuron?” at the Creative Economy and Beyond Conference, Helsinki, 09.-10.09.2009.
  • “Group creativity and beyond: What can we learn from famous groups?” at the Applied Business Creativity in 21st-Century Organizations Conference, London, 30-31.05.2007.

Organized conferences and academies

2019

Planning and organization of the first “Imagining Tomorrow” Summer Academy at Karlshochschule from 27 May to 6 June. Imagining Tomorrow is a two-week international study program in which students from the fields of art, design, business, management and architecture work together with lecturers to address issues relating to the future of art and communication. They collaborate with clients from public and private organizations such as Reet Aus Fashion Tallinn, Anne Frank Zentrum Berlin, the Dutch Red Cross, the Amsterdam Public Library and the ZKM/Zentrum für Kunst und Medien in Karlsruhe to develop creative and artistic solutions.

2014

“ReThinking management” conference – conception and organization together with Wendelin Küpers, David Sixt and Martin Zierold (all from Karlshochschule), see publications.

2013

“Touring consumption” Conference – conception and organization together with Desmond Wee and David Sixt (all from Karlshochschule), see publications.

2012-2016

Co-developer of the International Summer Program “Intercultural management: A Scandinavian perspective”.

2011

“Branded spaces” Conference – conception and organization together with Laura Baker (FH Joanneum Graz) and Louise Bielzer (Karlshochschule), see section publications.

Certificates

  • 2017 Lego Serious Play certified trainer.
  • 2015 Design Thinking Training at the HPI Academy in Potsdam